We're Still Here
by miss.sunshine053
Summary: This is a story about a boy who learns that the story doesn't quite end when the book closes and a girl who finds out that after every ending is a new beginning. But most of all, this is a story about love. Brooke&Lucas, after 8x13.
1. Chapter 1

Hi, this is my _One Tree Hill_ fanfic story and it takes place roughly around the time of Brooke and Julian's wedding. I haven't really watched the show in awhile because well, there's no more Brooke and Lucas. So I made a story about Brooke and Lucas. The new characters may not be in here much because I don't know anything about them, however there will be a lot of the original cast.

So sit back and enjoy!

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><p><strong>We're Still Here<strong>

_This is a story about a boy who learns that the story doesn't quite end when the book closes, and a girl who finds out that after every ending is a new beginning. But most of all, this is a story about love._

Chapter **One**

There she was, behind closed doors, smiling, while her hands shook as she held her bouquet of lilies close to her chest.

Brooke Davis, the beautiful brunette. Brilliant, beautiful and brave, some could say. Her whole life, especially high school was a constant reassurance that she was beautiful and wanted. Or at least her body was. Only two guys ever saw her heart, wanted it and yearned for it.

Yet here she was, in her pristine white dress, sitting in a bed of tears.

_She knew she should have been nervous when he pulled her away from the double doors that held the entrance to the altar where their family and friends were gathered. But she silently followed him back to the hotel near the chapel. She sat on the edge of the bed in her bridal suite and he took a seat beside her. _

"_I love you, Brooke Davis," he said. _

I love you Lucas, and I probably always will.

_He continued as he took her hand, "And I know you love me now," he smiled, "And maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow or even next month or next year, but you'll stop loving me." _

_She had tears down her face by that time as she looked into his eyes searching for answers because right now nothing he said was making sense. _

"Hey," he let out once he found the girl he was looking for. Although he didn't want to find her like that; sitting against the wall in the chapel, defeated. There were no tears travelling down her face anymore, just the trace of them. The tulle of her dress fanned around her on the floor. In short, it was heart breaking.

The broken bride looked up at the familiar voice and for a moment her eyes widened in shock. But with a blink of an eye, she sat staring once again to the opposite wall.

"Hey," she greeted back moments later. "What are you doing here?" she voiced her curiosity.

"Well—is this seat taken?" he interrupted himself and pointed to the space beside her. When she shook her head, he moved down on the floor and tried to move the stubborn fabric so he could sit beside her.

"Well," he started again, "you see a few years ago, I promised this pretty girl that someone would say something nice to her on her wedding day. And I know Haley's smart an all, but I couldn't trust her with that task."

"You can save it for another wedding," she whispered and then loudly and bitterly, she said to no one and nothing in particular, "Because apparently there is no happy ending for one Brooke Davis!"

"I don't believe that," was his simple reply.

He hears a scoff, but no reply so he fills in the silence. "'Cause there's this beautiful woman before me, broken and bruised, but she is so strong. She is kind and honest, sure but insecure, she's humble, but she's greedy, funny but y'know pretty lame," he added as an attempt to get a laugh out of her. He heard a small sniffle accompanied by a small smile. "She's a beautiful walking contradiction. Brilliant, beautiful and brave, right?"

She nodded her head, and that was enough for him. For now that was enough.

They sat in silence for a while until he realized she had fallen asleep on her knee. He knew it couldn't be comfortable and she would pay for it later when the back pain started. So he picked her up, bridal style though he was no groom, and he guessed she wasn't really a bride anymore. He led her to the bridal suite seeing as she rented it until tomorrow afternoon.

"Don't leave," she rasped as he tried to gently ease her on the bed. "I know I'm supposed to be strong, but tonight can I just be weak, can I just lean on someone?" She sat down on the bed, just as she had when Julian approached her. And just like Julian, Lucas sat beside her.

He smiled a sad smile at the girl before him. She stopped crying now and he was glad. He has never been good with the combination of tears and girls. He wanted to be angry at Julian for putting her through this, but he knew he'd hurt Brooke before too, so he thought, he didn't really have a right to be mad.

She laid her head on Lucas' shoulder and closed her eyes. "He said I didn't give him my heart."

"_You'll stop loving me maybe because you've never been able to be in love with me after all," Julian said with what she thought was certainty. _

"_Julian—I don't," she was about to say understand but he had cut her off. And on any other day and situation, she would have let him know that nobody cuts Brooke Davis off, but alas it wasn't any other day. Here they were on their wedding day, with anything on their faces but smiles. _

"_It's okay. Well it's not okay now. But it will be. One day, I'll wake up and say, 'I dated Brooke Davis, it didn't work and that's okay.'"_

"_What are you talking about Julian?" she asked with a hint of anger in her voice. _

"_I don't want you to marry me and think it was a mistake."_

"_I want to marry you! I love you!"_

"_I know. But there's this guy who has your heart and I don't even think he realizes it. And you have his."_

_For the first time since this conversation started, she thought sadly, _I'm not getting married tonight_. The dress, the party, the rings, the _guy_, she's not going to have it all. _

Brooke had once again fallen asleep and for the second time that day, Lucas laid her down on the king size bed. The sleeping brunette somehow found Lucas' hand and held on to it. Content, Lucas sat on the armchair beside the bed. He watched her sleep, praying that it would only get better from here.

He sent a quick text to Haley, who he was sure, was worried. "She's with me. Don't worry." He can't help but think that the last time he texted Haley not to worry, he ended up being engaged to Peyton. He suddenly felt her grasp on his hand tighten and he looked over to see that she was still sleeping. For a moment he thought, he wouldn't really mind if he fell asleep holding her hand ten thousand more times. And with that thought, he drifted to sleep, not knowing that this would be the first of many times he would fall asleep with Brooke's hand in his.

Brooke woke up being irritated by the organza of her neckline. She couldn't believe she slept through the night in her ball gown dress. But most of all, she couldn't believe that Lucas had stayed and held her hand the whole time. She allowed herself to smile despite the recent events in her life. Brooke was about to untangle her hand from his when he noticed the lack of a wedding band on his ring finger.

"_I tried to ignore it, I told myself that those letters to him were just a thing of your past, that the cut out of the passage from _Unkindness of Ravens _was just because you were so proud of him, that you keep that green baby blanket he gave you as a reminder of Angie," Julian sighed, "but it's not is it?" _

_She was sobbing uncontrollably now and she wanted to say _that was it, all of those things mean nothing more, _but something compelled her not to. Instead she just stayed silent and whimpering. _

_Julian could only nod at her silent confirmation. The brunette in front of him just about dissolved in her tears and he too, was barely keeping it together. He felt like he should be strong or he wouldn't be able to walk away from her like he should. _

She looked up at him and finally his eyes fluttered open. He noticed her look between his eyes and his ring finger. He squeezed her hand reassuringly, "Hey don't worry about that. Let's get you home, everyone's worried about you." She nodded and made her way to the closet. She picked out an outfit from the suitcase she packed the day before, thinking she'd be going on a honeymoon by now. She wiped a tear before it traveled too far down her cheek.

She took a deep breath and looked at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. A reflection she could hardly recognize. When was the last time she cried? All this time, she had been happy, right? She looked down at the dress that she now hated. It was a stupid dress, a stupid, stupid dress, she told herself. As she stepped out of her dress, she kicked it against the wall.

. . . . .

They sat in his car in silence as he drove her back home. He figured he should be quiet maybe she wanted to be left alone in her own thoughts. After a few minutes of silence though, she spoke up. "So where are you staying while you're here?"

He wanted to tell her that he was staying for good and that he was going apartment hunting during the next few days. But he decided it wasn't time for that yet. "I'm gonna stay back home with ma." Karen, Lily and Andy finally settled down in Tree Hill and he was glad that they did.

"That's nice," she gave him a small smile which still felt foreign on her face. She wanted to ask him about Peyton and their beautiful daughter, Sawyer, but she thought he'd just wave it off since she just got left at the altar. She studied his face while he drove. He didn't look sad or heartbroken, she mused. He looked fine; in fact he looked better than he did when she saw him a year ago. She decided not to go down the train of thoughts so she spoke instead, "When are you going back to New Zealand?"

"Not anytime soon." She decided to leave it at that. She looked out the window again and they fell in a comfortable silence.

He walked her to her door when they finally arrived in her house. They looked at each other, unsure of what to do. He wanted to stay and make sure she would be okay, but he knew she probably wouldn't agree with that. "You should go home, Luke. I can manage from here." He was right.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded, stood on her tip toes to give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I'll be fine," her voice was raspier than usual so he checked her eyes for any sign of crying. However, before he could, she had turned to face the door. "Bye Luke," she said, but he barely heard her.

Once she closed the door behind her, she still willed herself not to cry. And even when she saw that all of Julian's things were gone, she still tried not to cry. She tried, she really did, but the tears escaped her eyes anyways. So she sat on her couch and allowed herself strictly five minutes to cry. When her five minutes were up, she stood up, straightened her dress and made herself a cup of coffee.

. . . . .

Lucas pulled into the driveway of the place he still called home. He debated whether he should enter through the side door that led to his bedroom or the front door. He looked at the side door and chuckled a little at himself. Karen never liked that sad, dark, black door that he painted. She had forced him to paint it over once more in high school. She had gotten him red paint, but he didn't think it would be suitable for his room anymore. He opted for a nice shade of blue. Looking at it now, he would give anything for it to be red again. He walked the familiar steps towards his front door, deciding he shouldn't barge in from his room. However, before he could knock or ring the doorbell, the door flew open and out came his sister.

"Lucas!" the girl screamed as she jumped up at her big brother. Lily hardly saw her brother so she was always excited whenever she saw him.

"Hey Lily pad," he caught her sister and carried her back in the house. "You know you're not supposed to answer the door, right?"

"Yes, but I knew it was you!" she told him matter-of-factly, "I saw you from the window."

"Okay, smarty pants." Lucas put her down on the floor and just then his mom and Andy appeared from the kitchen.

"Hey, where were you?" Karen asked as she kissed her son on the cheek.

"Oh, I was with Brooke," he said as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

Upon hearing Brooke's name, Lily's eyes lit up, "Aunt Brooke looked so pretty yesterday!" The child was completely unaware that although very pretty, Brooke's wedding did not follow through. Lily was a flower girl, but she had forgotten that she didn't get to throw rose petals down the aisle. She and Jamie had been too busy talking and playing with the various decorations in the chapel the whole time.

Lucas cleared his throat and said, "And you looked very pretty too."

"But Aunt Brooke looked extra pretty. She was like Cinderella," the girl said in awe. "I want to wear a dress like hers one day!" she said exclaimed.

"Okay," Andy said, picking Lily up with just one hand, "you and I are way too young to think about that." He placed her on the chair in the kitchen and Lucas followed behind chuckling at the two.

"Do I smell pancakes?"

"Banana pancakes!" Lily said before taking a mouthful of said pancakes.

After they had all eaten breakfast, Karen expertly pulled Lucas away from Andy and Lily. They were now sitting on the front porch, each with a cup of coffee in their hands, just like they did when he was in high school. "How's Brooke?" Karen asked immediately.

Lucas wasn't sure how to answer that question. To be honest, Brooke was a mess, but he knew that she would be fine eventually because she was strong. "She's okay…I mean, I dunno…as okay as you can be after someone leaves you at the altar."

"Are we mad at Julian?"

Lucas chuckled, "Honestly, I want to be mad at him, but she doesn't seem upset or mad at him. She's just kind of…accepting it."

Karen nodded and sipped her coffee. "And how are you?"

"I'm fine," he said simply.

"You just went through a divorce."

"I know, ma. I was there," Lucas said earning a glare from his mother. He tried to come up with an explanation of what happened. "It was a mutual decision, one that we spent a long time talking about. And I think we're both happy about it."

"What went wrong?" his mother couldn't help but pry, she was his mother after all.

Lucas shrugged and averted his gaze from his mother to the familiar scene in front of him. He still remembered the route he always took when he ran around the block back in high school. Tree Hill hadn't changed much; the trees were the same, the sidewalk, and the houses were still the same. It was the people in the houses that changed; the people who walked the streets of Tree Hill. Some changed for the better, some for the worse, but many were still, after all of these years, finding their way. Finally he spoke up, "I think it wasn't right to begin with. I mean, don't get me wrong, I don't regret any of it, not a single day. She gave me Sawyer, y'know? And everything that has happened made me who I am today. But I think we realized that we were lost, and we weren't where we were supposed to be. We were just fooling ourselves for a year."

The wind started to pick up and he felt his mom shiver from where he was. He stood up and said, "I think that's enough storytelling for now." He smiled and Karen silently followed, knowing enough not to push his son further.

"I'm glad you're back," Karen said once they were inside the house, "And for what it's worth, I think you're in the right place now."

"Me too."

He spent the rest of the day catching up with his sister. Lily showed him her room, which was just beside his. She sat on a small chair that fit her perfectly. She offered another small chair to Lucas and he sat on it awkwardly.

She told him about school and how much she likes it and he had to laugh because she reminded him so much of himself as a boy. She showed him all the books that she's already read and told him that _Harry Potter_ was her absolute _favourite_. She tells him that her mom won't let her read _The Unkindness of Ravens _or _The Comet _until she was sixteen. She chats about other things, like what he missed while he was away: Christmas and her birthday party and Jamie's too. When she talked about Mark, a boy in her class, his eyes darkened and suddenly he wanted to keep his sister indoors forever. She goes on to say that he keeps bugging her and pulling on her hair, but sometimes he'd bring an extra juice box for her which made her confused. He laughed because obviously the boy had a crush on her.

She let him know that she misses New Zealand, but that she loves the people in Tree Hill. He told her that he does too. She talked about her Aunt Haley and how she had been teaching her how to play the piano. And that her Aunt Brooke made clothes for her and that she got to help her design them. She told him that Nathan and Jamie teach her how to play basketball, even though most of the time, her uncle would just lift her up towards the basket. He smiled at her and thought to himself that he wanted Sawyer to be with these amazing people. And that now he had no doubt in his mind that he was right where he had to be.

After all, there was only one Tree Hill.

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><p>I hope you enjoyed it and comments are always welcome and appreciated!<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you to everyone who liked and reviewed my story! To _dreamkent _I didn't think you were mean at all, thank you for the corrections, I hope this chapter is clearer. Keep reading and reviewing! (:

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><p>We're Still Here<p>

Chapter **Two**

Her house was eerily silent and she hated it. She almost wished she asked Lucas to stay or had taken Haley up on her offer to come over. She needed something to do. She could only clean her house so many times. She couldn't even sketch because she had no inspiration. So, with nothing else to do, she sat in her living room couch with a cup of hot cocoa in her hand.

The sound of the doorbell startled her and she nearly spilled her drink on the hardwood floor. She placed her the steaming mug on the coffee table and made her way to her front door. Taking a deep breath, she prepared herself for whoever was on the other side of the door.

"Hey Brooke," he said in that sweet way that he did.

She greeted him and ushered him in the house. As they walked to the living room, she asked, "Where's your key?"

"I don't live here anymore," Julian told her.

Right, she forgot about that. She forgot that tonight he won't be home to hold her or to make her dinner and that he probably never would. She forgot that his toothbrush was no longer beside hers. She forgot that a quarter of her closet was now empty. She forgot perhaps because she just wanted to pretend. She wanted to pretend that he would hold her and make her dinner. She wanted to pretend that when she woke up, he would be in the bathroom brushing his teeth and when she would open her closet, she would smell his cologne on his clothes.

But she wouldn't. Not anymore.

"How are you?" he asked once they sat down.

"Just peachy," she tried to smile, but it came out sarcastic.

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely.

"Why now? Why did you decide that I didn't love you enough on our _wedding_ day?" She was upset now and she didn't want to hide it anymore. "I was going to marry you, Julian! I was ready!"

"I know, okay!" his voice matched hers. "I know you would have married me. That's why I couldn't do it."

"So you don't want to marry me?" She asked incredulously.

"I do! But not when you can't love me with all your heart," he sighed, feeling defeated. "I thought—I dunno, maybe one day you'll give me that same look you give him. Or that maybe one day I'd be okay if you never did. And I tried ignoring it, but I can't marry you knowing I'm second best. It's not fair to either of us."

She knew she should have said everything he had just told her was a lie. She should have said all the right words that would have made him stay. She should have said I love you.

"I'm sorry."

But she didn't.

"Yeah," he said and it was barely a whisper.

"I'm sorry," she said once again because she really was. She was sorry that her love wasn't enough. She was sorry that she wasn't good enough. She was sorry that she'll never get the happy beginning, ending or the in between. "I tried," she continued. "I tried to give you all of my heart, to let you in, to let you love me. But I guess it wasn't enough."

"Maybe because you're trying for the wrong person."

"Why do you keep doing that?" she asked obviously annoyed. "You keep pushing the idea of me and Lucas."

"I just want you to be happy." He looked straight into her eyes. He could tell she wanted to argue with him and to disagree, but she didn't. Maybe because she was tired, or maybe because fighting would have been useless.

Instead she said, in a soft raspy voice, "I don't love Lucas."

He didn't reply, he just smiled at her and stood up. He started towards the door and she followed suit. They were in the foyer again and she couldn't help but wonder when being with him got so awkward.

"I'm going to go back to LA."

She nodded her head in understanding. Then she said meekly, "Just because we aren't uhm…together doesn't mean we can't be friends. Right?"

He laughed and gave her a reassuring smile. "Of course, it's just gonna take awhile." He reached into his pocket and pulled something out. "I guess this belong to you," he held his hand out and placed a silver key on her awaiting hand.

Brooke placed the key in her pocket before she fidgeted with her fingers. She finally removed the ring that she had been so accustomed to wearing for the past few months. "I guess this belong to you." She handed it to him and tried not to cry in front of him.

"Bye Brooke Davis," he said once he finally pocketed the ring. He gave her one last hug and he felt comfort when she laid her head down on his shoulder. It was hard, but he knew he had to let her go.

"Bye Julian Baker." And with that, she watched him walk away.

. . . . .

She gathered her courage and took a deep breath as she stood in front of the door. No more tears, she tried to tell herself. No more tears. She pressed the doorbell and hoped that the sleeping child wouldn't wake up because of it. She could hear footsteps behind the door and then finally heard it open.

"Hey tutor-mom, hey tutor-baby," she pressed her hand to Haley's stomach and tried to smile although her voice was breaking.  
>Instead of replying, Haley just gave her best friend a hug and led her inside the house.<p>

"I hope I didn't wake up Jamie…or you and Nathan." It was half past ten and it suddenly began to feel like it was a bad idea or timing to visit Haley.

"Oh, don't worry, Jamie sleeps like a log and Nathan and I were just watching TV." She saw Brooke nod and couldn't help but feel sorry of the brunette. "Oh, Brooke," she enveloped her in another hug, "How are you doing?"

They were in the kitchen now and Haley took out some left over cake for them to munch on while they talked. She placed the cake and two forks on the counter.

"Julian came over today," Brooke sniffled.

"What happened?" Haley was get plates and forks for the cake but when she turned around, Brooke was already angrily picking on the cake. Haley just put the plates back and joined Brooke.

"I don't know…he just kept saying that I didn't love him with all my heart." Brooke was attacking the chocolate cake by then. "I should have said I loved him! I should have made him stay, but I didn't. I just let him go."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

The other girl just shrugged and kept picking on the cake, occasionally bringing a piece to her mouth. After awhile Brooke said, "He said I was still in love with Lucas." A look of shock registered on Haley's face, but Brooke thought Haley should have looked more shocked than she did.

"Do you?"

"Hales, Lucas is on of my best friends." She didn't really say yes or no and Haley wanted to tell her that, but Brooke changed the topic. "This cake is amazing. Where'd you buy it?"

Reluctantly, Haley accepted the change of topic. "Jamie and I made it a few days ago."

Brooke smiled at the thought of her nephew that she loved so much. He was the ring bearer on her wedding and he was so excited about his responsibilities as one. It saddened her that he didn't get to do it. Suddenly, she stood up from where she was sitting by the counter and exclaimed, "The wedding!"

"What?" Haley asked confused.

"The wedding! What happened after I left?" Brooke asked, she hadn't thought about the guests and reservations that she had left behind.

"Well Julian dealt with the guests. Y'know apologized, but didn't really giving anything away. Then he left, I guess. Nathan and I just worked on canceling everything, reception, the caterers and stuff. And Karen and Andy helped us take the decorations down."

"I'm so, so sorry. I completely forgot about the rest of the world. I should have helped you."

Haley put her hand on top of Brooke's and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "It was alright, you already had too much going on." Haley continued to answer Brooke's questions about the wedding she abandoned. And Brooke filled Haley in on more about what happened earlier. After awhile, Haley hesitantly asked, "So uhm…I guess you say Lucas yesterday?"

"Uhm," Brooke felt like avoiding Haley's gaze for some reason. She just eyed the cake and said, "Yeah, I didn't think he'd show up."

"He barely made it. He just got to the church a few minutes before..uh, yeah."

"It's okay, Haley, you can say it. Julian left me."

"Well anyway, after Julian calmed the guests down, Lucas disappeared looking for you. I guess he found you, huh?" Haley smiled.

"Yeah, I was hiding in one of the hallways at the chapel."

They had finished the cake after an hour and Haley had offered for Brooke to stay the night. Her lame excuse was that eating chocolate and driving at night was dangerous. Brooke laughed and accepted her offer because she really didn't want to be alone in her house yet. Haley was about to go upstairs to send Nathan to bring new pillows and blankets to the guestroom, but Brooke called out to her.

"Yeah, tigger?"

Hesitantly, Brooke whispered as if it was a secret, "Lucas wasn't wearing his ring."

"Yeah, I know," she simply said. She wasn't sure if she should have been the one to tell Brooke about Lucas and Peyton's marriage. "Get some rest, Brooke." When Nathan finally came down to set up the guest room, he found Brooke already asleep on their couch. He threw the comforter over her small frame and kissed her forehead before joining his wife on their bed.

. . . . .

It was early in the morning, in fact it was hardly even 8am and if it was any other household, he would know better that to wake up the people behind the door. But this was Nathan and Haley's house and he was sure that one of them had to be awake at this hour. However, not wanting to risk waking up their son, he knocked on the door instead of ringing the doorbell.

He waited patiently for any signs of movement form inside the house. He had been out running since before 7am. Instead of going home, he decided to make his way to the Scott's residence. After all, he had run far enough that he was closer to their house than his. He finally heard footsteps behind the door and when the door opened, he was greeted by Haley's bright smile. He sighed in relief, glad of the indication that he hadn't just woken her up.

"Hey, good morning!" she says in her chirpy voice. She took a step back to let him in.

"You're gonna have to give me more space than that," he laughs and points to her protruding belly that was obscuring his way in.

"Oh hush," she scolds him, still smiling.

He walks in, finally and remarks, "You seem very happy today, and I do _not_ want to even know why."

Haley just blushed and giggled as she led him to the kitchen where she had been cooking. As they walked towards the living room, she turned to face him and put her index finger against her lips, "Shhh," she breathed as she pointed her thumb to the sleeping brunette on the couch. He gave her a puzzled look, confused as to why Brooke was there but followed Haley to the kitchen anyways.

Once they were in the kitchen, a safe distance from Brooke, Lucas spoke up, "What's Brooke doing here? Is she okay?" His face was full of concern.

Haley continued what she was doing before Lucas had knocked on their door. She dipped the slices of bread into the thin batter and set them down on a plate. She grinned at how concerned her friend sounded, and without looking up from what she was doing, she answered him. "She came over to talk last night, and by the time we were done it was late so I told her to stay over, but she ended up falling asleep on the couch."

Lucas nodded as he reached for a piece of French toast that was already cooked to perfection. "Uh-uh," came Haley's motherly tone, "Not until everything's done and everyone's here."

Lucas pouted, but Haley wouldn't give in. Haley ordered him to go to their guest room to take a quick shower and change since he smelled like sweat. He removed fresh clothes from his duffel bag and followed Haley's orders. Once Haley approved his level of cleanliness, he asked to help in the kitchen.

Haley eyed him suspiciously, "Are you sure?" when he nodded, she asked, "Can you handle cooking bacon without snacking on them or burning them?"

"Haley, you ask too much of me," he joked. When she glared at him, he laughed and held up his hands, "I kid, I kid. I can handle that."

Lucas turned up the head on the stove and drizzled a bit of oil on the frying pan. "Where's Nathan?" he asked as he waited for the pan to heat up.

"He's still sleeping. I really tired him out last night," Haley grinned.

"Ugh! Haley! Unnecessary information!" he said trying to get the images out of his head. "How can you even do that," he pointed to her stomach, "with that?"

"We're creative people, Lucas." He groaned again, instantly regretting asking anything at all. He tries not to think about how when Peyton was pregnant, their love life had died down.

"It was a rhetorical question!" he exclaimed, trying to stop himself from going down that train of thought. She just laughed as she cooked the bread on the pan while he fried the bacon. "How is my little niece or nephew anyway?" he asked.

"Great!" she said rubbing her stomach. "It's been an easier pregnancy now that I kind of know what to expect."

He smiled at her, glad that she was finally happy. He heard about her depression after her mother's death. He had called Nathan every week to check up on how she was doing.

"Mmm," he heard the bubbly brunette from behind him. He turned around to look at her. She was wrapped in a blanket and her eyes were still half closed since they were still adjusting to the light. "I smell," she lingered, taking in the smell of the wonderful breakfast, then she saw him, "Lucas?"

"You smell Lucas?" Haley turned around to face Brooke.

"No—I mean," she stuttered. "Hi you two," she said, composing herself. "Can I help?"

"No," Haley quickly told her, trying to sound sweet but not really wanting Brooke to ruin the food.

As if reading her mind, Brooke whined, "But Haley, I won't screw anything up."

Haley finally gave in and instructed for Brooke to cut up some fruits. She didn't really want to give Brooke the daunting task of dealing with the stove.

"That's not fair," Brooke muttered, but grabbed the large bowl of fruits anyway. On her way to get the chopping board and knife, she picked a piece of bacon, but then heard Lucas' voice.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he warned her.

Haley then quickly swatted Brooke's hand away from the plate of freshly cooked bacon. "Uh-uh!" she said once again, "You know the rules, Davis."

"Yeah, Davis," Lucas mimicked, sticking his tongue out. Brooke did that same to him.

"Okay, _children_ break it up. I don't see any sliced fruit, Brooke."

Brooke muttered something under her breath and began to peel and slice some fruits. Not long after, Nathan walks into the kitchen dragging a sleepy Jamie with him. Once Jamie saw his godparents, he was fully awake. Jamie ran towards them and yelled, "Aunt Brooke! Uncle Lucas!" He then jumped up Lucas' arms, not having seen him in a year.

"I'm here too, y'know," Haley said, feigning hurt.

"Hi momma," the kid waved at her, still perched in Lucas' arms. He then waved at his mother's stomach, "Hi Lydia!"

"Lydia?" Brooke and Lucas asked in unison, looking at Nathan and Haley.

Nathan walked up to his wife, putting his hand on her pregnant belly and kissing the back of her head. "We weren't going to say anything about the gender of the baby yet," he looked at Jamie pointedly. The youngest Scott just smiled sheepishly and buried his face in Lucas' neck. "But I guess the cat's out of the bag now. We decided to name her Lydia."

"Oh Haley! This is so exciting!" Brooke exclaimed, running over to hug her best friend.

"The Scott men are quickly becoming outnumbered!" Lucas pretended to frown, but broke out into a grin moments later. He gently put James down and went to hug his best friend as well, "Congrats, you two."

"Okay, can we please eat now?" Brooke whined.

Nathan and Lucas worked on setting up the table and arranging the food with Jamie. Brooke and Haley were left in the kitchen, cleaning up the mess. "How are you doing?" Haley asked cautiously.

"Hmm, better," Brooke said looking at Haley. "Confused, and hurt still, but definitely better." Haley smiled at her, she put her hand over Brooke's arm and squeezed it. "I thought I was going to have it all, y'know? An amazing husband, adorable children, family breakfast," Brooke looked out to where Nathan, Lucas and Jamie were setting up breakfast.

"You still can, Brooke. You _will_." Haley said, her voice full of confidence.

"Yeah," Brooke said, not quite believe her.

Haley went to the dining room to help Lucas and Jamie just as Nathan went in the kitchen.

"So, you kinda passed out on the couch there last night," Nathan smiled at Brooke.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I'm pretty sure there's a permanent dent the shape of me on your couch now."

"Hey, as long as its the shape of Brooke Davis, right?" He winked at Brooke which made her chuckle. "How are you?"

'I'm fine," she said and when he didn't look convinced, she added, "I'll _be_ fine."

They weren't very different, him and Brooke so he knew she was hiding behind that smile. However he was just glad he was smiling, he had no doubt in his mind that she was going to make it through this mess. He put his arm around her shoulders as they walked into the dining room.

"This is really good, momma!" Jamie said, his mouth full of French toast. "Thank you!" he tried to say.

"Hey! I helped too!" Brooke said as she put so toast and bacon on her plate.

"You cut up fruit, Davis," Lucas points out, "You didn't _grow_ them."

Brooke glared at him playfully, but the rest of breakfast went smoothly.

After breakfast, Luke and Brooke offered to wash the dishes seeing as they crashed Naley's household. Brooke's words, not Lucas'. They worked silently, and comfortably. Working as a team, Lucas soaped while Brooke rinsed (not wanting to make her hands dry from the liquid detergent). Haley, Nathan and Jamie had planned on going to the beach that day and invited Brooke and Lucas to join them. They had agreed to meet there in a few hours.

Brooke dropped Lucas off at his house before heading to hers, not quite sure if spending her afternoon at the beach was such a good idea.

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><p>Next chapter will explain more about Lucas' divorce and some BrookeLucas/Jamie moments! So review if you want to read more!


	3. Chapter 3

Eeek! Thank you guys so much for all the reviews! I've had this chapter done for awhile now, but I was busy with school so I couldn't edit it to my liking until now. Hope I didn't lose my audience for not updating sooner.

Disclaimer: (I just realized I've been forgetting to do this) I don't own One Tree Hill.

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><p>We're Still Here<p>

Chapter **Three**

Brooke arrived at the beach in her summer dress clinging onto her sandals in her right hand. She soon figured out that Lucas and the happy family were there already. The family of three were along the shore. Jamie was splashing water on his father who refused to get in the water. Haley was sitting on the picnic blanket, glowing in her sundress, watching her family. She waved at Haley when she turned around, but instead of joining the family, she made her way over to the brooding figure further down the beach. When she was finally near him she nervously played with the sand under her feet. "Is this beach taken?"

Lucas heard Brooke's question and he grinned, remembering the day that he had asked her the same question. It was the day that their relationship changed, the day that she slowly let herself trust him with her heart. And so he remembered exactly what she said to him. "There's plenty to go around."

It was all the confirmation she needed before sitting down beside him. Once she was settled down, she noticed Lucas about to speak, but she cut him off. "If you don't ask me how I am, I won't ask how you are," she said knowing they were both tired of hearing and answering that question.

"Fair enough," Lucas nodded.

"What happened to your ring?" Brooke pointed at Lucas' naked ring finger.

"So getting right to it then, are we? No dilly-dally?"

"Yep," she smirked.

"I'm not wearing my ring because Peyton and I are divorced." Brooke looked at him expectantly because _duh_ she already figured out that much.

He looked away from her, facing the ocean of blue as if not looking at her would make this conversation easier. His feet were inches away from the cold water, while her toes were already dipped in, absentmindedly rolling the small pebbles underneath her toes. He continued to talk after awhile, "We've been divorced for about a month and a half now."

"I'm sorry," Brooke whispered, and kept her eyes on Lucas, wanting him to keep talking, but not wanting to push him too far. When he didn't say anything, she just followed his gaze out to the ocean.

"It's weird," he said, once he gathered some of his thoughts in his head. "We spent almost a whole year thinking we were happy, until we realized we were just settling. Sometimes it's hard to tell if you're happy or just content."

"When did you realize the difference?"

He looked at her and said, "When a month passed by and we realized that we hadn't had sex." He said it seriously and for a moment Brooke cringed, but then the moment was gone and she burst out laughing.

"Lucas, I never would have thought you'd last that long without it," she said trying to control her laughter as she spoke

Both of them were laughing now and he added, "And then when we agreed to do it, we just kinda ended up not wanting to."

"_This isn't going to happen is it?" Lucas said, rolling off of his wife. _

_Peyton shook her head. "What is wrong with us?" She sat with her back against the headboard while he sat near the foot of the bed, facing her. _

"_I don't know…it's like," he paused, and thought carefully, not wanting to hurt her with his words, "It's like I forgot how to be with you; how to be in love with you." He looked at her cautiously, trying to look for any signs of anger or hurt. It was there, he noticed, but only a bit of it. Her face mostly read acceptance. _

_It took her a moment before she could get the question out of her lips, silently fearing his answer, but she asking anyway. "Do you think you ever knew how?" Her question was gentle, not accusing or filled with hate. He smiled a little to himself, thinking about how much Peyton had grown and at how much Sawyer had helped both of them grow. Had this been the high school Peyton, she would have been yelling, crying and perhaps begging. But she's so beautifully mature now. Peyton continued to talk, mistaking his silence for confusion. "Do you think you ever knew how to be in love with me?"_

"You know Peyton is probably going to kill you for telling me that, right?" Her voice brought him back to the present. She was still giggling and he couldn't help but laugh along with her.

"Probably," he agrees. Then his voice turn to a much serious one once again, "I dunno, at one point we realized we were just two people living under the same roof instead of a couple."

"I'm sorry," she whispered. He stretched his legs and finally let his feet touch the water. He leaned back while his arms were stretched, supporting the weight of his shoulders. She gently placed her hands on top of his and they stayed like that for awhile; silent and thinking.

"_Peyton," he said, not really knowing how to answer her or what to say at all Did he ever know how to be in love with her, he questioned himself. "I love you," he said and he really did._

"_I love you too." She meant it too, but for a second he thinks that maybe it wasn't enough. Maybe the way they loved each other wasn't enough._

"_Sometimes I feel like we're just accepting things; accepting that we're married and that we live together. I think somewhere along the lines we stopped living and merely existed in this house." _

_She nodded. She could already feel herself losing him and a part of her thought she should fight for him. But a stronger, louder part of her thought the battle was already lost. It surprised her, but she isn't as devastated by the thought of it. "When do you think we stopped living?"_

This time he was pulled out of his thoughts when he felt Brooke remove her hands from his. "Okay, we didn't come to the beach to sulk," Brooke said dusting herself off as she got up. She bent down to grab his hand again, this time trying to get him on his feet. "Either you get in the water or you help me build a sand castle."

Before she could say anything else, he got up and swept her in his arms. She was light which made it easy for him to run in the cold water. She shrieked and instantly regretted suggesting going in the water. He was knee deep in the water now and could feel Brooke flailing in his arms.

"Sand castle!" she screamed, "I change my mind! No water!" she begged as she felt the freezing water from her dangling arms. She quickly brought them around Lucas' neck. "Lucas, this is an original Clothes Over Bros dress, do _not_ drop me!" She tried to say it in her most threatening voice. Her efforts were futile however as she was mostly laughing.

"You can make another one in no time," he said trying to get a hold of her while she continued to kick her feet in the air. He didn't really want to drop her in the water, he just wated to see her laugh again. "If you keep kicking like that you're gonna fall out of my arms." _Splash. _She fell in the water on her butt. He burst into a fit of laughter when she emerged from the water. They weren't very far from the shore so the water only reached up to her chest as she leaned against her arms on the sand. She glared at Lucas, but before he could laugh more, Brooke dragged him down the water.

He didn't know if it was because of the cold water or the gorgeous brunette in front of him, but in that moment he felt alive. "You're gonna pay for that, Davis!" he called out once he rose from the water. She was already running away from him. She ran to the spot they had been before and wrapped a towel around her.

"You're the one that dropped me in the water," she told him as she tried to catch her breath.

"You fell in the water," he deadpanned once he caught up to her. She playfully hit his shoulder and stuck her tongue out at him. There was a gentle breeze that made Brooke's hair dance with the wind behind her. It reminded him of all those years ago when he told her that he was the guy for her. He couldn't help but think she looked just as beautiful as she did then, maybe even a little bit more beautiful. She ran over to the direction of Haley, Nathan and Jamie, and he could do nothing else but follow her, carrying her bag. He had been so in love with her back then. Suddenly he was once again brought back to his conversation with Peyton almost two months ago.

_He couldn't really pinpoint a moment when they stopped living, but he tried to think. He shrugged his shoulders and squinted his eyes. His gaze fell on the picture on their bedside. It was of him and Peyton with Sawyer in her comet as they took one last look at Tree Hill. Haley had taken it when they left and had emailed them the picture. "I think I thought that when we left Tree Hill that was it. That was our happy ending; the perfect book. I guess I thought everything else would fall into place. And when it didn't," he looked back at her, "I thought that was just how it was supposed to be. No one questioned us, why should I?"_

_Peyton wished that she didn't understand Lucas, but she did. She had felt it too. They were supposed to be together, meant to be and written in the stars. Yet there they were on opposite sides of their own bed, barely holding on to a relationship that was silently deteriorating each day. "Do you think we're holding on to the past?" before he could answer her, she says, "I think we built a family on the idea that the tortured artist and the tortured athlete were meant to be together," she was silent for awhile, not quite sure how to say what she was thinking, "I think we built a family based on infatuation." _

_He could only nod because once again he and Peyton were on the same page. They were so alike and most of the time, he thought that was their downfall. That, and their inability to follow their hearts blindly. _

"_God, Luke, why did we even marry each other?" _

"_If I had to guess, I'd say it was because of my irresistibly good looks." That comment had earned him a pillow on the head. _

"Haaleeeey!" Brooke called out to the young mother, "Lucas pushed me in the water!" She pouted and plopped herself down the picnic blanket beside her best friend.

"What?" Lucas exclaimed, "You keep stretching the truth! You fell!"

Haley just looked between the two of them, clearly amused. "I didn't think I'd have to babysit three kids at the beach today."

"Who are we babysitting?" Nathan asked as he ran up to Haley from the water, with Jamie behind him.

"Well, well, Mr. Baywatch! Would you mind doing that again?"

"Brooke, that is my husband!" Haley growled at Brooke.

"Well if you let him out like that, you leave me no choice but to hit on him!" Brooke pointed to Nathan's soaking bare torso. Nathan just grinned, loving the attention he was getting from Brooke and Haley.

"Well divert your attention to the other Scott, this one's taken," Haley said kissing her husband. "Besides, Lucas is drenched too."

"Yeah, but he still has his shirt on," was Brooke's reason.

"We can do something about that," Lucas smirked.

"No thanks, I have my eye on the hottest Scott in here," she told him, "C'mere Jamie!"

Brook spent the rest of the afternoon playing in the sand with Lucas and Jamie. Haley and Nathan took a stroll around the beach that Brooke insisted they take. And with a second child on the way, they couldn't resist the offer.

"I want a giant castle, Aunt Brooke!" Jamie exclaimed, stretching his arms out to show just how big the castle was to be.

"You got it, hot shot!" Brooke winked at the child.

"Brooke, you can't call him that!" Lucas shouted, shocked.

"But you like it, don't cha, hot shot?" she looked to Jamie.

"Mhm," the child grinned. "Besides, momma said it's okay as long as she doesn't call me boy toy."

Lucas chuckled then looked at Jamie seriously. "Oh, I have an idea," he said, "How about we burry you in the sand?" He was greeted by a mortified Jamie. Lucas made a step towards Jamie as the kid ran away. Lucas, having the upper hand, caught Jamie within three long strides. He swung Jamie on his back despite his protests.

Brooke laughed at the two blond Scotts. Lucas seemed happy; anyone who didn't know him probably wouldn't ever guess that he just went through a divorce with the love of his life. And even though the youngest Scott was kicking and protesting against Lucas's arms, Brooke knew the boy was happy too. And for a moment, Brooke allowed herself to be happy with her company.

Jamie, realizing he was no match against his clearly taller uncle, screamed for Brooke. "Help me, Aunt Brooke!"

"I dunno James…do you think I can take down Uncle Lucas?" Brooke pretended to worry.

"Any day!" Jamie said fiercely.

That was all the reassurance she needed to take down one Lucas Scott. She started to chase them and when he was finally within reach, she did the only thing she knew would work. Tickle him. Lucas realized he wouldn't be able to fend Brooke off with Jamie in his arms. He cursed the day that Brooke found out he was ticklish. They had been cuddling in bed after a long night and she had her arm around his waist. Subconsciously she started to draw patterns on the patch of skin under her hand. He tried to control it, he really did, but after mere seconds he squirmed under her touch. That was the day he became powerless against Brooke Davis.

He hastily, but gently put James back down and ran away from Brooke. "Okay, that's enough you two!" Jamie scolded his godparents. "I want a sand castle before my momma and daddy get back!" he ordered seriously before breaking out into a grin.

So build a sand castle they did.

While Jamie was by the shore meticulously collecting rocks and seashells for the castle, Lucas and Brooke worked on actually making the damned thing. "Okay, this is harder than I thought," Brooke complained as another bucket of compressed sand fell apart as she emptied it. Lucas just chuckled and went back to perfecting his sand castle-making skills.

After awhile Lucas got tired of the silence, "So I know we promised not to ask each other how we were doing, but I have to know how you are Brooke," he asked, somewhat hesitantly.

Brooke smiled at Lucas, as if already knowing that he would have asked her that eventually. "I feel happy now," she started, "I don't know if I'm just being happy for Jamie, or Haley and Nathan or even for you. But right now, in this moment, I'm happy. I know when I go home tonight and when it's silent and dark I'll be sad again, but I don't think it's so bad. It gives me time to think and sulk and eat ice cream." She tried to chuckle but it came out as a raspy cough.

"You're gonna be fine, Brooke Davis," he smiled at her. They continued building the castle, occasionally eyeing Jamie as he picked and unpicked stones. Another question came to his head and he had to ask her. "So uhm…what did you mean when you said, 'even you'?" When her response was a puzzled look, he added, "You said you weren't sure if you were being happy for the sake of Jamie or even for me."

"Oh," Brooke let out, still focusing on the castle. "I guess, I don't know…After Angie and everything I was okay with being vulnerable around you. I feel like it's okay to let my walls down for you because you accept my vulnerability."

"Yeah," he said and looked at her, "and I think it's kinda beautiful."

Just then Jamie came running back with a bucket filled with stones and seashells. They finished the castle half an hour later. It wasn't as gigantic as Jamie wanted it to be, but he was satisfied with it. The castle was kind of falling apart on the side that Brooke worked on. But it was adorned with the prettiest seashells. Lucas' side of the castle was standing perfectly. He grinned, pleased with his work and he could help but smirk when Brooke looked at him, obviously disappointed with her side.

"It's not fair," she pouted. "Back then I didn't really play with toy buckets and sand, if you know what I mean," she kinked her eyebrow at Lucas suggestively.

"What did you play with?" James asked innocently.

Brooke was stunned, her jaw dropped and she looked horrified. Lucas on the other hand burst into a fit of laughter; he clutched his stomach trying to control his laughter. Brooke was, for the first time since he could remember, speechless.

"Balls. She played with balls," Lucas answered for her, still laughing.

Despite his laughter and amusement, he could hear Brooke's clearly un-amused shriek. "Lucas Eugene Scott!"

"Oh, like volleyball?" Jamie looked up at Brooke, clearly unaware of the innuendo.

"Yeah, something like that," Lucas replied, finally able to regain control of his laughter. Brooke was still rooted in the same spot, glaring at Lucas.

Jamie looked between his godparents, confused as to why his uncle was laughing while his aunt looked shocked. However, he just shrugged it off and inspected the sand castle. Upon observing it, a question popped up in his head. He turned to his uncle and asked, "How long are you staying here?"

Lucas looked between Jamie and Brooke and finally said, "I'm staying here for good." He had answered Jamie but his eyes were on Brooke. For the millionth time that day, Brooke looked at Lucas in shock.

"That's—," she began to say.

"Awesome!" Jamie finished for her.

"Yeah," Brooke finally smiled. "Welcome back, Luke." Brooke hugged Lucas and in that moment, he really did feel welcome. He wrapped an arm tightly around her waist while his other hand made its way behind her head.

"I don't know if I told you this yet, but I missed you, Brooke Davis."

Upon hear this, she put her head on his chest and whispered, "I missed you too, Lucas Scott."

"Where are you gonna live?" asked Jamie, making Lucas and Brooke let go of each other. Before Lucas could respond, Jamie jumped up from where he was sitting on the sand. "I know! You could live with Aunt Brooke!"

"Oh, I don't think so Jimmy-Jam," Brooke told him, "Luke here hogs the shower too much.

"Oh, okay," Jamie pouted, which made Brooke's heart break.

Lucas kneeled down so he was the same level as Jamie, "What's wrong little guy?"

Jamie leaned in closer to Lucas' ear and told him quietly, "Momma told me yesterday that Aunt Brooke wasn't feeling well. I think she's sad, but she's happy with you. And I want her to be happy."

Lucas looked at the blond boy in amazement. "You make her happy, Jamie."

"But I have a house," he pointed out, "You can keep her happy when I'm not there."

"Okay, what are you boys talking about?" Brooke asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Just secret boy stuff, I wouldn't expect you to understand," Lucas said casually.

Nathan and Haley came back moments later. They had all called it a day and packed up their things. Before Jamie joined his parents Lucas pulled him aside. "I'm going to try my best to make her happy, okay?" Jamie smiled brightly at him and hugged his uncle before running towards his parents.

The five of them walked back up to the parking lot. Jamie held his parents hands as he told them all about his giant castle. Brooke walked across the sand barefoot, looking serene as her hair and dress once again danced with the wind. Lucas looked back on the castle from a distance. It wasn't the prettiest castle; it wasn't even the biggest on the beach. But to him it was the best; it was perfect. It was theirs and he loved it.

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><p>So there you go! I hope the whole LucasPeyton break up wasn't confusing. I really wanted them to realize on their own that they weren't meant to be, and to have a healthy break up.

Reviews are always welcome! (:


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry I took so long to update, but I'm done with school for the year and I've been spending the past week trying to write this chapter, so here it is. I actually wanted to write more, but I also wanted to update the story because of everyone who reviewed! This chapter is going to be in two parts and I'm still in the process of writing the second part.

Also, I know in Chapter 1 I said they Peyton, Lucas and Sawyer were in Charlotte (which was stupid), but I decided that they were in New Zealand with his mom. Anyways, on with the story!

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><p><span>We're Still Here<span>

Chapter **Four**

He hasn't seen her in weeks. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but he was busy apartment hunting the past week. He still texted her occasionally about whatever came to his mind. He wasn't sure if it was guilt or if he found that he really just missed her more than he thought he would (or should). But he was on his way to see her now and he didn't want to dwell on that right now. As he waited for Brooke to answer the door he tried to think of a reason for his visit. But he couldn't come up with one besides that he really just wanted to see her.

He was starting to feel silly just staring at the white door and he contemplated leaving. It probably would have been a good idea to call first, he thought. Spontaneity was never his thing after all. He decided he would ring the doorbell one more time and if there was no answer, he would give up for the day. "C'mon, Brooke," he muttered under his breath.

"Don't you just hate it when they don't answer?" He was startled by the voice behind him. He jumped a little from where he was at and then turned around, holding a hand to his chest.

"Jesus, Brooke!"

"Oops?" she laughed, but then she looked concerned. She removed her earphones from her ears and placed her hand on his chest where his hand used to be. "I'm sorry, I forgot about…" she trailed off, quite afraid of the term HCM. "How's your heart?"

He could feel his heart beat even faster and he hoped she couldn't feel it too. "I'm fine," he smiled, but a part of him suddenly missed her touch when she brought her hand back down. "What are you doing here?"

She tilted her head and looked at him as if he was crazy. "I live here…," she told him as if she was trying to explain something to a child.

"I mean why aren't you _there_," he pointed towards the door.

"You didn't expect me to be cooped up in there all the time, did you?" she laughed as she turned the lock on her door.

_Of course not_, he thought as she trailed behind her.

"So, to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I just wanted to see—," he started to say but she cut him off before he could finish.

"I'm fine," she told him as she headed to the kitchen grabbing a bottle of water. She offered it to him, but when he shook his head no, she drank it instead.

"I wasn't checking up on you," he tried to tell her, but really, he kinda was. She gave him a knowing look, and he knew she figured him out.

"Well I'm fine."

He was snooping through her kitchen as if he belonged there. He opened her refrigerator and was appalled by its contents. "This doesn't look like a refrigerator of a girl who is fine." He pointed towards the three boxes of ice cream and the six-pack beer. She didn't say anything or maybe she was trying to ignore him, but she looked amused so he continued throughout her kitchen. He opened one of the cupboards, grabbed one of the many blue boxes and turned around the face her. "What is this junk doing here?"

"It's KD! It's good!" she tried to grab the box from him, but her efforts failed as he was a lot taller than she was.

"You need real mac and cheese, not this crap."

"Did you come here to judge my eating habits?" she placed her hand on her hip and glared at him.

"Nope," he threw the _mac and cheese_ as she called it in the trash. "I actually came here to ask you if you wanted to help me look for a place." When she didn't look convinced that it would be such a good idea, he kept talking. "I've been looking for a _week_ and I haven't even found one candidate. Maybe I need a woman's opinion. Plus, it'll be really fun, you get to look at pretty houses and apartments. And I can take you out for lunch to have _real_ food!"

She eyed him before throwing her hands up in the air, "Fine, I'll go!"

He grinned at her before she made her way up the stairs to shower and change. "You're paying for lunch, and I get to decorate whatever house you buy!" he heard her yell from her bedroom. He merely chuckled and went back to snooping around in her kitchen, trying to find something to snack on.

. . . . .

They decided to eat first, well Brooke decided, he couldn't really do anything else but follow. They were walking on the board walk, looking for a place to eat. They've been silent for a while now, but it wasn't awkward, at least he didn't think so. They eventually found a small diner and went in. Upon sitting down, they were handed a menu.

"Remember when I used to order for you when we'd go out?" Brooke said laughing.

"Yeah, you'd order things you weren't sure were good, and if it was you'd eat half of it and order it next time."

"And if it wasn't good, you had to eat it," she grinned and scanned the menu.

A man with broad shoulders and a red flannel shirt with a blue backwards baseball cap came up to them and said, "Are you guys ready to order?" He didn't sound mean, but he definitely didn't sound nice, he sounded quite impatient.

"I'll just have a club sandwich with a side of fries," Brooke said folding her menu.

"I'll get a burger with extra fries," Lucas told him, handing him the menu as well.

"Is this weird?" Brooke asked. "Having lunch with me and all. I mean, I can't even remember the last time we did this." They must've been dating the last time they went out and it was just the two of them. After she had returned to Tree Hill, sure they were close, but they always had someone else with them. Like Angie, or Jamie; someone to break the silence and the awkwardness. It was just them this time and she wasn't sure if that was a good thing.

"I guess, it's a little weird," Lucas shrugged and leaned back on his chair. "But we've been friends before."

"Yeah," she tried to smile. "We'll always be friends." There was a pause, until the silence was filled once again. "How's Sawyer?" Brooke asked of his almost 2 year old daughter.

Lucas' eyes immediately lit up at the mention of his daughter. He grinned, just as a proud father would "She's amazing! Perfect and beautiful and just…amazing." He didn't know a lot of people in New Zealand so he bragged about his daughter to any willing ears.

Brooke laughed at Lucas, she could tell he could talk about Sawyer forever. The little girl obviously had him wrapper around her tiny fingers. "Slow down there, Scott, you might run out of adjectives."

Lucas smiled coyly at Brooke and said, "She's my life."

Brooke nodded with a smile, amazed at the love a father could have for his child. She couldn't help but remember Angie and remember how much she wanted a child. "Is she talking your ears off yet?"

Lucas laughed, but shook his head. "She has these moments, and you could tell she's really thinking about something. And then after awhile she would ask something. It's like curiosity gets the best of her and she wants to ask, but she has to think of it first."

"Oh my gosh, she's a broody baby!" Brooke exclaimed.

"My baby does _not_ brood!" Lucas denied.

"She is so yours and Peyton's baby." The table got silent at the mention of his ex-wife. She wasn't really sure how things were between him and her best friend. She was thankful that their orders came in during that moment. She cleared her throat when the man left, she tried to cut the awkwardness that was beginning to settle between them. "Have you taught her how to say Brooke yet? Or cheerleader!"

"My daughter is not gonna be a cheerleader!" Lucas told Brooke with a playful glare.

Brooke waved him off, "That's like saying if you had a son, he won't be a basketball player. Besides what's wrong with being a cheerleader? I was a cheerleader and I didn't turn out half bad," Brooke tried to defend.

"You're amazing Brooke," he reached out for her hand that she was slowly withdrawing and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "If Sawyer turned out to be half as amazing as her godmother then I'd know I raised her well. But I know what the guys talk about in the locker room. I saw how they ogled the cheerleaders. I was one of them!"

"Oh god, did you ever tell them about what we did?" Brooke looked horrified.

"God, no," Lucas threw his head back as he laughed. "I don't think they were ready to hear about what we did."

Brooke laughed along with him, "C'mon, we weren't that bad."

"You took me to a jacuzzi that wasn't yours," he deadpanned and she had to stifle a laugh.

"Maybe we were that bad." She took a few more bites of her sandwich. "Okay, back to Sawyer."

Lucas couldn't help the smile on his face once again. "Maybe you could teach her how to say Aunt Brooke and Jimmy Choo yourself. She and Peyton are actually moving here next week."

Brooke looked stunned as was made obvious by the way her jaw dropped. "What? Why didn't you tell me this before?" She slapped his arm, albeit playfully, it still hurt a bit.

"I dunno, with the wedding and Jamie and you almost killing me on your doorstep, there never seemed to be a right time."

"There was always a right time!"

"I'm sorry. I just thought maybe it'd be better if you focused your time on…," he didn't know what to say, he wanted to say relationship and Julian, but those words seemed to be forbidden.

"Julian?" she tried to continue for him.

He nodded his head in confirmation, "I thought maybe that would help you. If I told you about Sawyer and Peyt, you might distract yourself from it somehow."

"I'm fine." That seemed to be her mantra. He wanted to protest and ask her about how she was doing, but he thought maybe it'd be better if she came to him when he was ready.

"Anyways, I couldn't be in Tree Hill and not have Sawyer and Peyton, y'know? New Zealand was good for awhile, but my mom, Andy and Lily came back because Tree Hill was home, and Peyton and I should never have thought otherwise."

Brooke nodded her head, "I understand why you guys left, you guys have a lot of bad memories here. There were accidents after accidents, drama after drama. I understand wanting to leave that and starting anew." She paused, and played with the fries on her plate with her fork. She would push the remainder of her fries on one side and then the other, then she looked up at him and he met her eyes. "Y'know, I wanted to leave Tree Hill too. For awhile, I thought maybe LA wouldn't be so bad or maybe I could go back to New York. But I just couldn't bring myself to leave this place. I knew I needed to face my problems and past, and not run away from them. Besides, the good memories in Tree Hill always out weight the bad. Always. When I was in New York, when it was silent and cold and lonely at night in my apartment, I'd always think of going back to Tree Hill, back to _home_. I'd remember Peyton, Haley, Jamie, Nathan and you." She said _you_ in almost a whisper, it was so soft that he wasn't even sure if she'd said it, but she gave him a small smile and he was sure. She remembered him. So he smiled back and let her continue. "No matter how much I wanted to go back, I knew I couldn't; I was just starting my company and…I just couldn't. So I'd try to think of a bad memory in Tree Hill." She looked away from him again, he thinks because she's probably afraid that if she met his eyes, he'd know most of the bad memories included him. He was certain the bad memories included him, and he felt guilty and sorry and for a moment, he kinda wishes he could do it all over again. She'd gone back to mindlessly forking her food. "The bad memories kept me there, but only for awhile, well four years," she laughed, "Tree Hill was great when I came back, but then a lot of things happened and I just wanted to leave. But then I'd think of the good memories, and those memories always made me stay."

Her eyes lost some colour or sparkle, he noticed, as if she was relieving a memory. What memory, he wasn't sure. He and Peyton had a lot of bad histories in Tree Hill, but Brooke did too. And yet she stayed, being the fierce person that she was.

_Tomorrow finds the best way out is through._

He wanted to ask Brooke about what bad memory she was thinking of. Her eyes continued to get darker, but he couldn't bring himself up to ask her about a bad memory. He didn't want to see her eyes lose colour, he wanted to bring back that shine in her eyes and that smile on her face. Maybe he'd ask about her bad memories next time, but not today.

"Tell me about a good memory in Tree Hill," he told her instead. He could tell that her mind was somewhere else because when he spoke, she seemed to have fallen out of her reverie. Her eyes focused on him once again and she shook her head as if it could clear her thoughts.

"A good memory…why?"

"Just…I want to know."

"Uhm, okay," she said uncertainly as she looked down and resumed playing with her food, even if there was hardly any on her plate. He really wished she would just eat those damned fries so she could stop distracting herself and finally look at him. And then she did, look at him that is. "Whenever I feel like packing up and uprooting somewhere else, I'd think of when Peyton and I were just kids during the summer. I'd drag her out of her room to go to the beach. Can you believe that? I had to _drag_ her to the _beach_. We'd go to my dad's yacht even though we weren't allowed. The yacht was anchored, locked and everything, it would just sway with the waves, but it never really went anywhere, but we'd pretend we were somewhere else. One time we pretended we sailed all the way to England and we talked in funny accents while we sun bathed on the deck of the yacht. We pretended we were British, having tea. I stole my mom's make-up bag and we put on red lipstick, way too much eye shadow and too-pink lipstick with clip on earrings. Of course, I had to force those on her. We must've look ridiculous bathing on a yacht by the dock, but we were so carefree, you know? We didn't care what other people thought and our only problem was getting caught by my father."

He smiled a little at her, but he felt a bit guilty as she told him of Peyton and her from years ago because he realized that he ruined almost a lifetime worth of friendship. He had come between the two of them, but he never meant to. He was only supposed to be with and fall in love with the blonde artist. But then he met her; and he meant _really_ met _her_. Like not just in hallways or in the gym cheering or in gossip.

Her voice interrupted his thoughts, "In that moment that I'm reliving those memories, I feel like I could be just as carefree as we were then. But then the moment is gone."

He felt even more guilty after that. But then she just smiled and told him they should get going if they want to find him a house.

He didn't like that smile. It was a fake, cover-up smile and he did not like it. He made a promise to himself that he was going to make her genuinely smile before the end of the day, and maybe everyday onwards.

* * *

><p>I'm not extremely happy with this chapter since I didn't plan their conversation to be so long, but they kept conversing and being cute in my head that I just had to write it.<p>

I feel like this chapter is kinda a filler, but more will happen in the upcoming chapters so please keep reading and reviewing, they pressure me to write a lot faster. :D


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